Editor’s Note: Here at Dispatches, we are always looking for ways to help our readers do things. For some of our readers, that means helping navigate the working world, for others, it means assisting in the ever challenging question, “what’s for dinner?” For still others, it means figuring out how to balance family life with everything else. In an effort to aid in all of these endeavors, we have collaborated on this article written specifically for our readers.
One of the trappings of beginning a start-up is spending money where it doesn’t need to be spent. The costs of your new business are going to differ greatly compared with other businesses, so it is important to pay close attention to your business plan and where you have been allocating funds. Your business may be the newbie on the block, but that doesn’t mean that you have to penny pinch with every expense that comes your way.
There are some expenses that are wholly necessary when it comes to your business, and it’s going to depend on the type of business that you are running how you spend your cash. For example, if you have hired a warehouse to manufacture goods, you may need to allocate cash for electricians to regularly check and install variable speed drives for better process control. Most small businesses wouldn’t need to think about this, but yours would. Understanding where the necessary expenses are versus the unnecessary will make a huge difference to your bottom line and save you from wasting your cash. Below, we’ve compiled a list of essential expenses for your business that you may have missed:
- Business Plan. Hopefully, this is one of the essentials that you haven’t missed at all. Some entrepreneurs don’t believe in the rigidity of a business plan, but if you want to know where you are going and how to get there, then a business plan isn’t optional for you.
- Market Research. A lot of companies skip this step, believing that what they read on social media is enough to get them through any marketing hiccups. You may be setting up that warehouse and ensuring the best production equipment is available, but you shouldn’t be spending a penny on that until you’ve heard what people have to say about your product.
- An Accountant. You are running a business but that doesn’t mean that you know everything that there is to know about every area of it. Don’t panic though; that’s the whole idea of bringing on a good accountant who can manage the financial difficulties a new business brings.
- Tech Support. Even a small business needs a good IT team backing them up. If you haven’t allocated a portion of your funds to an IT company to manage and care for your business data, then you need to get that sorted as soon as possible. Don’t spend your own time dealing with your website when you could be putting your time to better use elsewhere.
- Lunch. If there’s one place that you should be spending some of your business expenses, it’s buying lunch for those who are higher than yourself. Even the savviest entrepreneurs know when to show respect to mentors and those who have given them advice along the way, so a budget for paying for lunch is a way to show that you appreciate those who have helped you get this far.
Expenses for a business can seem endless, but as long as you have yours sorted, you won’t miss.